Finder's Bane - Kate Novak [89]
Jedidiah had done all he could. Jas's skin was no longer so gray, but her breathing was shallow and she moaned in pain. Now Holly was calling on Lathander to help the winged woman. The paladin's arms glowed rosy pink, and she laid them on Jas's head, on her face, on her shoulders and arms and chest. Jas began to breathe more evenly, and she fell into a deep, peaceful sleep. Walinda approached them and peered down at her master's victim.
Jedidiah stood up, looking drained and tired. "She'll be all right," he said to Joel. "She'll be out for a while. All things considered, that's probably for the best."
"The black flaming death of Bane is most efficient," Walinda said, a touch of pride creeping into her voice.
Jedidiah harrumphed. "It was a coldfire missile… a standard trick of all baneliches," he lectured the priestess. "It's nasty, but not in league with a real god's power."
Walinda raised her head proudly. "Delude yourself if you wish, priest. Deny that the living Bane is among you. But still he wields his might!" she declared, pointing with her goad toward the Cat's Gate.
The banelich hovered in front of the buried gate with its arms raised, chanting in its ancient tongue. The sand about the gate began to heave and roil as hundreds of skeletal forms, the dead from the army of the wizards of Netheril, pulled themselves from the earth. The banelich commanded them to clear the sand from the gate and they began to dig stiffly, using their own skulls to scoop out the sand.
"All praise and glory to mighty Bane!" Walinda whispered, her eyes riveted on the undead at their work.
"Animate dead," Jedidiah muttered. "Another favorite banelich trick." He turned to Joel. "Go help Holly move Jas under the tarp," he ordered. "I'll keep an eye on this fool woman."
As Joel turned, Jedidiah put a hand on his shoulder. "You'll have to tell Holly that she'll have to stay behind. There's no way the banelich is going to take her aboard after this stunt. But I suspect she knew that."
Joel nodded. "Thank you for your help," he said.
Jedidiah shrugged. He wasn't pleased, but then Joel suspected he would forgive his priest before the banelich forgave Walinda.
Using a cape as a stretcher, Joel helped Holly move Jas up the dune into the tarp shelter. Though a dead weight in her sleep, fortunately the winged woman wasn't very heavy.
"You knew Jas was coming. You gave her that holy water, didn't you?" the bard asked the paladin. "How could you? You promised Jedidiah you wouldn't do anything reckless."
Holly sighed. "When I visited the shrine to Lathander in the Lost Vale, I had another vision of a sunrise. When I came to, there was the holy water, in four little vials. It was a gift from my god. I showed the vials to Jas. She took them from me while I slept. I didn't notice they were missing until after she flew off. I didn't know she planned to follow us and use them."
"But it was a good bet she would," Joel said. "Why didn't you tell us?"
"She might have succeeded. You saw how the water vaporized the banelich's flesh. A few more attacks like that might have destroyed the creature." The paladin looked down on the winged woman with concern and disappointment. "Will she be all right until Grypht gets here?"
"She will if you watch over her," Joel said. "You're not coming with us now." I
Holly bristled. "I have to come with you," she insisted.
"Holly, think. The banelich is never going to agree to your coming after this. It thinks you were responsible for this attack. Jedidiah has used all his influence just to save your life. Besides, Jas needs you. Be reasonable. Please."
Holly looked down at Jas and brushed the woman's hair from her forehead. She looked back up at Joel. "You made Jedidiah stand up to the banelich, just as Grypht asked you to do," she said.
Joel looked down at the ground, unwilling to admit that Jedidiah had not behaved properly without Joel's urging.
"When Jedidiah has the Hand of Bane,